Cheers, earplugs

Or how there's never a perfect time for anything

I spent last weekend at a festival.

Uh huh, I know you have two questions. Nope, I’m still not fully recovered, thanks for asking. And the second? You’re right! I did finally sort out some earplugs.

Long-suffering readers of The Rectangle may remember a piece from the beginning of last year where I went out clubbing in Bristol. The venue was maybe the loudest place I’d ever been and, alas, I had no earplugs. I fixed this the only way I could: by jamming my ears with toilet roll.

This incident illuminated the fact I’d been circling around buying earplugs for far too long.

My plan, or so I thought at the time, was to get a customised pair. You know, the high-end ones that mould directly to your ear canals. That only reduce loudness, and leave all other levels crystal clear.

Yet as time marched on I got no closer to buying them. Yet experience in Bristol made it clear that I had to do something.

So did I go and get a pair of earplugs made after that?

Nope. Of course not. As much as the idea of them made a lot of sense, there were so many barriers to entry. Firstly, you had to choose which company to go for. Then you had to make an appointment, travel somewhere to get them fitted, wait for several weeks, and pay quite a lot of money to make it happen.

Instead? Well, I just bought a pair of Loop earplugs off the shelf. And they worked. When it was time to go to last weekend’s festival, I had them there, ready to go.

It made one thing clear: waiting for the perfect thing at the perfect moment is pointless. If you’re always trying to optimise, chase this lofty ideal, and get the very best each time, the reality is nothing will get done.

It almost happened when I picked up the Loop earplugs. I got sucked into a vortex of ‘Best Of’ lists before I just said, “fuck it,” picked up a pair I thought looked cool and got on with my life.

Sometimes it’s a delight to delve into the rabbit hole and spend hours exploring, but there are plenty of other times you just need something. And quickly.

Would I like a more premium pair one day? Of course. Yet despite the fact my mind is still ringing from the festival, I can safely say my ears are not. And, sometimes, that’s enough.